Bollywood Stars: Connecting via social networks!

By HT

Mumbai, Dec. 10 -- Of late, social networking sites have often served as mediums of choice for celebrities to directly connect with their fans or talk about their professional lives. However, celebs are now increasingly opening up about their personal life, too, through Twitter.

The most recent example of this is the split between Pooja Bhatt and her husband Munish Makhija. On Monday (December 8), the actor-film-maker tweeted, "To all those who care &amp; especially those that don't my husband Munna &amp; Me have decided to part ways after 11 glorious years of marriage... (sic)". The same day, TV actor Karan Singh Grover, whose marriage with actor Jennifer Winget has been on the rocks, confirmed the rumours by posting on Twitter, "For all those who are concerned, you might have heard that Jennifer and I have separated and will soon be getting divorced. I just wanted to confirm that it's true... (sic)"

Pooja and Karan are not alone. Last year, Hrithik Roshan announced on Twitter that he and his then-wife Sussanne Khan had decided to go their separate ways. Last month, even TV actor Kushal Tandon took to the same micro-blogging site to announce his split with girlfriend Gauahar Khan.

Happy updates

However, splits aren't the only personal information people are sharing. Other relationship updates are announced on Twitter, too. John Abraham announced his marriage with Priya Runchal, and Dia Mirza and Soha Ali Khan, too, announced their respective weddings online. Bipasha Basu came out in the open about her relationship with Harman Baweja (they're allegedly on a break right now) on the same platform.

Trade analyst Amod Mehra explains that using online platforms to confirm or negate news is an easier way for celebrities to convey their thoughts, not just to their fans, but to the media as well. "There are about 80,000 publications and 60 channels in the country. Yet, social media is the fastest way of communicating any news. So, instead of

telling people via interviews, actors prefer to put news out on the social network," he says.

Vivek Oberoi echoes similar thoughts, and adds, "The social media space has become the most significant because of its reach. Anything uploaded spreads like wildfire and for that reason, perhaps it's the most sought-after platform."

What's new?

Sharing exclusive news and images online has also become a norm of sorts. Amitabh Bachchan had announced the birth of his granddaughter Aaradhya on Twitter; so did Lara Dutta when she became a mother of a baby girl. More recently, Riteish Deshmukh shared details about his baby boy on the same platform.

TV actor Hiten Tejwani puts things into perspective. "Holding a press conference for announcements is a done thing, but it would be weird to talk about certain things before an audience. This is where social media helps," he says.